We’re willing to bet your idea of a nightmare has changed radically since the days of hiding from the boogey man. Grown-up fears include: not being able to make rent, the petrol price doubling and… being affected by dementia. We have the data to back this last one up: several studies indicate that women express greater fear of dementia than men. Studies also show that feeling scatterbrained or having trouble with recall created anxiety about having early-onset dementia. But how prevalent is early-onset dementia among women – and how can you protect yourself? Here’s what the experts say.
Dementia Among Women: The Stats
The World Health Organisation estimates that the number of people living with dementia globally will double every 20 years. By 2030 – less than five years from now – 78 million people in the world will be living with dementia. Dementia affects a significant number of women in South Africa, with women making up a high percentage of cases due to higher life expectancy and increased vulnerability during menopause, owing to neurobiological changes.
And, regarding that fear about early-onset dementia? That’s a globally growing problem, according to a 2025 large cohort analysis published in Translational Psychiatry. The study also notes that rates of early-onset dementia (referred to as young-onset dementia by researchers) are higher in low- to middle-income countries and those with low sociodemographic indexes; South Africa falls into both of these categories.
READ MORE: Everything You Need To Know About Dementia
Why Are Women More Impacted By Early-Onset Dementia?
Young-onset dementia is defined as the occurrence of symptoms before the age of 65. And globally and in South Africa, women bear the heaviest burden. Women are not only more likely to develop dementia in general but also often at younger ages than men. Longer life expectancy partly explains this, but other biological and social factors are at play.
Hormonal changes, especially the drop in oestrogen during menopause, might contribute, as oestrogen is thought to protect brain cells. Combined with factors like social stressors, the persistent role women are made to play as caregivers, and health disparities, women face a complex interplay of risks requiring targeted awareness and research.
Recent studies highlight conditions unique to women, such as preeclampsia during pregnancy, which significantly increase the risk of early-onset dementia. Preeclampsia is associated with vascular changes and inflammation that may predispose the brain to dementia decades later.
READ MORE: A New Study Shows That Nightmares Are A Good Predictor Of Future Dementia
What Are The Early Signs Of Dementia?
Dementia doesn’t just happen overnight – it often starts with subtle changes in memory and thinking. While dementia presents differently in each person, common warning signs include:
- Memory loss that disrupts daily life
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks
- Language problems, such as difficulty in speaking or writing
- Confusion with time and place
- Trouble understanding visual images
- Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps
- Decreased or poor judgment
- Personality or mood changes
- Withdrawal from work or social activities
- Problems with reasoning or problem-solving
- Trouble with planning and organising
- Poor coordination and control of movements
- Confusion and disorientation
If you suspect you (or someone in your life) might have dementia, get help. It’s also critical to advocate for yourself. A 2023 South African study published in Dementia (London) noted that patients often experienced a delay in diagnosis for dementia because of a confluence of factors, including:
- No specific dementia services at the primary healthcare level
- Variations in the medical training of primary healthcare doctors and nurses
- Some practitioners believing that “nothing can be done for someone with dementia”
- Some practitioners dismissing symptoms among younger patients
The delay isn’t entirely in the hands of the medical community. The study found that people dismiss their own symptoms as “natural ageing”, pointing to a worrying lack of education. “It’s important not to dismiss symptoms as ‘just getting older’,” Dr Francis said. “Even in younger adults, persistent cognitive changes should be assessed by a neurologist or specialist physician.”
READ MORE: “I Lost My Mind In The School Parking Lot”: An Exclusive Extract From Shatterproof By Tasha Eurich
Here’s How You Can Prevent Dementia
Crucially, experts now know that a whopping 45% of cases of dementia are potentially preventable by addressing 14 modifiable risk factors at different stages during the life course. Some factors you can’t do much about, like not completing secondary education; others are easy enough to deal with.
Those risk factors for dementia include being socially isolated and having depression, along with several additional medical conditions like high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. And, these last three conditions are affecting more and more South Africans every day, despite their being the most preventable and treatable with lifestyle modifications. “The rise in dementia in [South Africa] is deeply concerning considering that we carry high burdens of HIV, hypertension, diabetes and stroke, all of which are linked to increased dementia risk,” said Dr Patty Francis, President of the Neurological Association of South Africa (NASA).
“The most powerful message we can share is that dementia is not just about ageing, it’s about lifelong brain health. What we do in our 30s, 40s and 50s has a direct impact on our risk later in life,” said Dr Francis. Although addressing risk factors at an early stage of life is desirable, there is also benefit from tackling risk throughout life; it is never too early or too late to reduce dementia risk. “Dementia doesn’t happen overnight. It often starts with decades of unmanaged risk factors such as high blood pressure, physical inactivity, obesity, smoking, poor sleep, alcohol abuse and hearing loss, all of which silently damage brain tissue. When addressing these, research shows dementia could be prevented or delayed in up to four in ten cases.”
READ MORE: 6 Things Neurologists Would Never Do If They Wanted To Protect Their Brain Health
Brain-Protecting Actions To Do Now
Clean up your diet
Diet plays a key role and can reduce the risk of chronic diseases that affect your chances of eventually having dementia. Dr Francis says dementia is no longer an inevitable consequence of old age, but “the result of decades-long exposure to modifiable risk factors”. So load up on the broccoli and salmon!
Manage – or bust – your lifestyle disease
Diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol: these increase vulnerability to dementia. Diet, mentioned above, plays a crucial role, but many lifestyle tweaks move the needle away from the red. And when we talk about management, we also mean the other things, like cutting down on alcohol and quitting smoking.
Move more
Pick a goal – any goal – and work towards it. Run a race. Swim a river. Try a triathlon. Anything helps to improve brain and heart health.
Train your brain
Low education levels are linked to dementia since they’re likely to lead to less cognitive reserve for brain health. Cognitive reserve is the brain’s ability to maintain sharpness despite ageing. Like how Dumbledore could duel Voldemort, sit on the Wizengamot, hold down the top job at Hogwarts *and* protect Harry Potter, all at the age of 115? #goals. While you don’t have to do all that, staying sharp by engaging your brain is thought to protect brain health.
Be more social
Depression and social isolation are both known to affect cognitive function negatively, so make a date with your friends and don’t bail at the last minute.
